Russian Infantryman
Russian Infantryman ( ) is a type of stage enemy found in both the original and NES version Strider. In both games, this enemy is identical design-wise and serves a similar function, being the most basic and simple type of stage enemy. Even then, they use completely different weapons and strategies, and have different precedences. These soldiers also appear in the original manga, serving as expendable members of the Kazakh Secret Police, pretty much the same as in the NES game. Information Strider (CPS-1) Appears in Stage 1 (St. Petersburg) and Stage 2 (Siberia). Common infantry soldiers belonging to the Russian army, now under the employment of Grandmaster MeioCapcom (October 2006, PlayStation). Gamebook: Strider Hiryu (Japanese). Pg. 13. ISBN 4-86233-076-2.. These soldiers wear a green winter uniform with a fur hat and a visor covering their eyes, and battle using bayonets. The Russian Infantrymen will usually attack in crowds, charging forward at Hiryu and trying to stab him while up-close; though if they are at a distance from him, they will use their weapons to shoot at him instead. At times, some of the soldiers are intimidated by Hiryu's presence, falling on their backs if Hiryu looks at them and crawling away in fear if he approaches them. One can use this to force them to basically kill themselves by crawling into a nearby pit. If Hiryu turns his back to them, however, they seem to gather up courage and dash madly at him with their guns raised over their heads. There's also a specific group of soldiers known as aides or close advisers ( ) that can be recognized by their red uniformSega (September 1990, Mega Drive). Strider Hiryû (Japanese). Instruction Manual, Pg. 18, and seem to serve Kazakh's ruling party directly. Hiryu meets four of these soldiers at the very end of the first stage, right next to the Council's chambers where Hiryu fights Ouroboros. They are practically identical to their green counterparts, though they don't seem to panic in front of Hiryu at all. Strider (NES) Appears in Kazakh The bulk of the Kazakh Secret Police, these soldiers appear all throughout the Kazakh Police headquarters. They wear the same uniform, fur hat and visor, but appear to wield some type of blade rather than rifles. These infantry soldiers run back and forth trying to hit Hiryu with their weapon. Sometimes, they are also known to perform a jump forward when running at Hiryu straight ahead, allowing them to avoid the Cypher's edge and damage Hiryu as they fall onto him. Armored Sentry Appears in Kazakh, Phantom Train, Egypt, Australia. The Armored Sentry (official name unknown) is a variation of the common infantryman. These sentries can be seen using the same visor and fur hat, but are clad in full body armor and wield machineguns instead. They remain stationary in one location and shoot at the direction they are facing a few times, after which they turn the other side and repeat the pattern. Despite wearing full body armor, they are still as easily eliminated as their unarmored counterparts, by a single strike of Hiryu's Cypher. Design Notes The Russian Infantryman's official art shows the character as having a mechanical face, possibly indicating the enemy was part of the military-clothed robots opposing the "Stylish Robots" that were cut when the enemy count was reduced to the bare minimumScion; Dire 51 (24 April 2010). "Interview with Kouichi "Isuke" Yotsui". LSCM 4.0. Translated by Gaijin Punch. Accessed October 6, 2015.. In the final game, the enemy's sprite shows a skin-colored face instead and official text state they are human. The idea of fully mechanical Russian soldiers, however, would be later revisited with the Light Troopers, the basic enemy type featured in the 2014 Strider. Gallery Str_manga_infantry.png|An Infantryman from the manga. Hiryu slide in.png|Hiryu slides into a Russian Infantryman (NES). NES Infantryman unused v final.png|Early sprite of the NES Infantryman found in the prototype. References Category:Characters Category:Stage Enemies Category:Manga Content